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Related papers: The Protostellar Mass Function

200 papers

In this work, we derive the stellar initial mass function (IMF) from the superposition of mass distributions of dense cores, generated through gravoturbulent fragmentation of unstable clumps in molecular clouds (MCs) and growing through…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-20 Todor Veltchev , Ralf S. Klessen , Paul C. Clark

We investigate the role of mass infall in the formation and evolution of protostars. To avoid ad hoc initial and boundary conditions, we consider the infall resulting self-consistently from modeling the formation of stellar clusters in…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-22 Paolo Padoan , Troels Haugbølle , Åke Nordlund

Early stages of stellar birth comprise of a two-step process involving the formation of two hydrostatic cores. The second step of gravitational collapse sets the radiative efficiency and accretion rate of the young protostar. These two…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2025-10-08 Asmita Bhandare , Adnan Ali Ahmad , Benoît Commerçon

The distribution of stellar masses that form in one star-formation event in a given volume of space is called the initial mass function (IMF). The IMF has been estimated from low-mass brown dwarfs to very massive stars. Combining IMF…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-07 Pavel Kroupa

In the present work we examined the hypothesis that, a core mass function (CMF), such as the one deduced for cores in the Orion molecular cloud (OMC), could possibly be the primogenitor of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Using the…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-27 S. Anathpindika

The final mass of a newborn star is set at the epoch when the mass accretion onto the star is terminated. We study the evolution of accreting protostars and the limits of accretion in low metallicity environments. Accretion rates onto…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2011-02-11 Takashi Hosokawa , Kazuyuki Omukai

Stars are amongst the most fundamental structures of our Universe. They comprise most of the baryonic and luminous mass of galaxies, synthethise heavy elements, and injec\ t mass, momentum, and energy into the interstellar medium. They are…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-04-16 Patrick Hennebelle , Michael Y. Grudić

A model of protostar mass and luminosity evolution in clusters gives new estimates of cluster age, protostar birthrate, accretion rate and mean accretion time. The model assumes constant protostar birthrate, core-clump accretion, and…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-04 Philip C. Myers

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is critical to our understanding of star formation and the effects of young stars on their environment. On large scales, it enables us to use tracers such as UV or Halpha emission to estimate the star…

The initial mass function (IMF) is one of the most important functions in astrophysics because it is key to reconstructing the cosmological matter cycle, understanding the formation of super-massive black holes, and deciphering the light…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-12-30 Pavel Kroupa , Eda Gjergo , Tereza Jerabkova , Zhiqiang Yan

The formation of a star is a dynamic process fed by the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud core. Theoretical models and observations suggest that the majority of this infalling material settles into a protoplanetary disk before…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2017-12-08 Doug Johnstone

The bright maser emission produced by several molecular species at centimeter to long millimeter wavelengths provides an essential tool for understanding the process of massive star formation. Unimpeded by the high dust optical depths that…

Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Ralf Klessen

We propose a new model for the evolution of a star cluster's System Mass Function (SMF). The model involves both turbulent fragmentation and competitive accretion. Turbulent fragmentation creates low-mass seed proto-systems (i.e. single and…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-10-28 Paul C. Clark , Anthony P. Whitworth

Stars form from the gravitational collapse of dense molecular cloud cores. In the protostellar phase, mass accretes from the core onto a protostar, likely through an accretion disk, and it is during this phase that the initial masses of…

Observations of normal galactic star-forming regions suggest there is widespread near-uniformity in the initial stellar mass function (IMF) in spite of diverse physical conditions. Fluctuations may come largely from statistical effects and…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 B. G. Elmegreen

We investigate prestellar core formation and accretion based on three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Our simulations represent local $\sim 1$pc regions within giant molecular clouds where a supersonic turbulent flow converges,…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-10 Munan Gong , Eve C. Ostriker

Understanding the processes that determine the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) is a critical unsolved problem, with profound implications for many areas of astrophysics. In molecular clouds, stars are formed in cores, gas condensations…

We present a simple statistical analysis of recent numerical simulations exploring the correlation between the core mass function obtained from the fragmentation of a molecular cloud and the stellar mass function which forms from these…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-20 Gilles Chabrier , Patrick Hennebelle

I review theoretical models of star formation and how they apply across the stellar mass spectrum. Several distinct theories are under active study for massive star formation, especially Turbulent Core Accretion, Competitive Accretion and…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2017-01-11 Jonathan C. Tan